1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an electrical connector, and more particularly to a battery seat to be connected to a button battery.
2. Description of the Related Art
A mainboard usually has a battery seat to be electrically connected to a battery for providing power to electrical elements mounted thereon. The conventional battery seats may be found in Taiwan Patent Publication Nos. TW318609, TW318610, TW391568 and TW435833.
Because the electrical product is gradually minimized, the battery seat connected to a button battery has to be disposed on the mainboard in an upright manner in order to save the area occupied by the battery seat on the mainboard.
TW435833 is the commonly assigned patent and discloses a battery seat that may be easily used. The battery seat has an upright pattern and the structure thereof is illustrated in FIGS. 4 to 7 of TW435833 patent. The battery seat has a base 1, a positive terminal 2 and a negative terminal 3. The base 1 has a circumferential wall 11 for defining a placement slot 12 such that the battery 95 placed therein cannot escape from the circumferential wall. The circumferential wall 11 has an opening 13 into which a finger may be inserted, and two first engagement portions 14 and one second engagement portion 15 for engaging with the battery 95 placed in the placement slot. The first engagement portions 14 are formed with inner and outer guiding slants 141 and 142 for guiding in/out the battery. In use, as shown in FIG. 5 of TW435833 patent, one end of the battery 95 is directly inserted into the placement slot 12 and is then engaged by the second engagement portion 15. Then, the battery 95 is laterally pressed. The other end of the battery is engaged by the first engagement portion 14, as shown in FIG. 6 of TW435833 patent. When the battery 95 is to be taken out, the finger is inserted into the opening 13 and pushes the battery outward. As shown in FIG. 10 of TW435833 patent, the contact 21 of the positive terminal is positioned on the inner surface of the circumferential wall. Such a design has the mistake-proof effect. That is, when the battery is incorrectly installed, the positive connection terminal of the battery contacts the positive terminal 2 and the negative terminal 3, and no power of the battery will be outputted because the front side and the circumference of the battery are the positive connection terminal, and the bottom surface of the battery is the negative connection terminal.
However, the prior art still has some drawbacks.
1. The first engagement portion 14 is formed with the inner and outer guiding slants 141 and 142 for guiding in/out the battery. Thus, when the engaging area is too large, the applied force for guiding in/out has to be larger, and the operation is inconvenient. When the engaging area is too small, the guiding in/out function can be easily achieved but the battery cannot be firmly positioned and tends to loosen.
2. As shown in FIG. 7 of TW435833 patent, the positive terminal 2 has two pins 23 spaced apart by a gap since the mainboard is formed with three holes corresponding to one upright battery seat to be inserted. Thus, one positive terminal has to be made by pressing a wider material plate, and the material waste is larger.
3. As shown in FIG. 10 of TW435833 patent having the mistake-proof design, the contact 21 of the positive terminal 2 is located on the inner surface of the circumferential wall, and the battery 95 contacts the positive terminal at one point of a lateral side, and the contact is not quite reliable.